1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector for use in a two-wheeled vehicle and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Two-wheeled automotive vehicles, such as motorcycles and motor scooters, are provided with external lights, such as turn indicators (i.e. blinkers or winkers), emergency flashers, parking lights and such. Similar lights are provided on other vehicles, such as three-wheeled or four-wheeled all terrain vehicles. A light for such a vehicle has a lamp and terminal fittings are connected to ends of electric wires taken out from the body of the lamp. The terminal fittings are accommodated in a connector, and the connector is connected to a mating connector disposed on the vehicle body. In this way, both connectors become electrically conductive to each other. FIGS. 7 and 8 show a conventional connector of this kind. The connector has a long narrow rectangular housing 1 made of a synthetic resin. The housing 1 has opposite front and rear ends and three cavities 2A, 2A, and 2B that extend between the front and rear ends. The cavities 2A, 2A and 2B are configured to accommodate the terminal fittings (not shown). The cavities 2A and 2A are arranged side by side along a lower wall 4 of the housing 1, while the cavity 2B is formed on an upper portion of the housing 1. The upper cavity 2B is oriented sideways with respect to the lower cavities 2A and 2A, as shown in FIG. 8. A cantilevered lance 3 is formed inside each of the cavities 2A and 2B, and functions to lock the terminal fittings in the respective cavities 2A, 2A and 2B. A drawing opening 5 extends from the front of the lance 3 to the front end of the housing 1 for drawing a die during the molding of the housing 1. Portions of the lower wall 4 of the housing 1 near the base of the lance 3 are thick, whereas the portion of the lower wall 4 forward from the lance 3 are comparatively thin and cover the periphery of the drawing opening 5.
The connector for the blinker of an automatic two-wheeled vehicle is disclosed in a journal of technical disclosure 98-6297.
The body of the lamp of the blinker is fixed to the body of the vehicle through a lamp holder. The body of the lamp is mounted on the body of the vehicle by inserting the above-described connector into a circular through-hole 6 of the lamp holder, as shown in FIG. 8. The connector then is connected to the mating connector disposed on the vehicle body. Recent designs of the blinker have tended to reduce the inner diameter of the through-hole 6. Accordingly there is a demand for a compact connector housing so that the connector can be inserted into the smaller through-hole of the lamp holder.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problem. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a compact connector that can be inserted into a small through-hole.
The invention is directed to a connector with a housing that has a cavity capable of accommodating a terminal fitting. An elastically or resiliently deflectable lance is formed in the cavity along an inner side of the outer wall of the housing, and is configured to lock a terminal fitting in the cavity. A region of the outer wall forward from the lance is open. Accordingly, the entire lower wall of the housing can be thinner than that of a conventional lower wall, and the housing can be inserted into the smaller through-hole.
The housing preferably is configured for insertion into a circular through-hole along an insertion direction of the terminal fitting. A leak prevention rib preferably projects out from the outer wall of the housing between the openings in the outer wall of the housing at the front ends of the cavities.
The leak prevention rib enables an increase in the distance along which water would have to creep between the cavities. Thus, if the connector is exposed to water, it is possible to prevent a short circuit current from being generated between the cavities due to the leaked water. The leak prevention rib is formed only at the position between the cavities. Thus the leak prevention rib hardly interferes with the peripheral edge of the through-hole, and enables the formation of a small through-hole.